Raynor Ranch Road is a 3.7 mile remanent of the larger Stockton-Los Angeles Road along the Mariposa County and Merced County line. The Stockton-Los Angeles Road was commissioned as a major stage road between the cities of Los Angeles and Stockton in 1853.
The Stockton-Los Angeles Road crossed the Chowchilla River at Newton's Crossing and formed much of the modern boundary of the Merced County/Mariposa County line. Raynor Ranch would be commissioned along the stage road in 1863 and would come to own much of the former highway right-of-way by the start of the twentieth century. Raynor Ranch Road as presently configured is open to public travel between Preston Road and Le Grand Road.
Part 1; the history of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road related to Raynor Ranch
What is now Raynor Ranch Road was a component of the larger Stockton-Los Angeles Road. The Stockton-Los Angeles Road came into use after the 1853 Kern River Gold Rush began. The Stockton-Los Angeles Road was a replacement of the earlier El Camino Viejo. Unlike El Camino Viejo the Stockton-Los Angeles Road avoided the dense Tule Marches in San Joaquin Valley. The Stockton-Los Angles Road stayed close to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to avoid flood prone terrain.
At the Fresno River the Stockton-Los Angeles Road utilized Fresno Crossing to pass the watershed. Fresno Crossing had once been part of Jim Savage's Fresno River Trading Post during the era of the Mariposa War. The corridor continued west from the Fresno River to Newton's Crossing at the Chowchilla River. Newton's Crossing was owned by William F. Newton who owned a home on the north side of the Chowchilla River in what is now Mariposa County.
The Stockton-Los Angeles Road between the original Fresno County seat of Millerton and Newton's Crossing can be seen on the 1857 Britton & Reys Map of California. North of the Chowchilla River the corridor is shown forming most of the Merced County and Mariposa County line towards the vicinity of Snelling. Merced County would split from much of western Mariposa County on April 19, 1855.
The Buchanan Copper Mine would be located along the Stockton-Los Angeles Road south of Newton's Crossing in Buchanan Hollow during July 1863. The Buchanan Mine is thought to have once had a population of between 1,000-1,500 residents by the early 1870s. North of Newton's Crossing much of southern Mariposa County would go through a similar copper boom centric to Copper Hill and Green Mountain. Raynor Ranch would be established along the Stockton-Los Angeles Road in southern Mariposa County also in 1863.
Copper prices would decline in the decade after the Civil War and much of the activity near Buchanan shifted towards cattle ranching. The Buchanan Post Office would be established during September 1873 and remained operational until June 1904. The last remaining businesses in the community were a bar and store which closed during World War II.
The popularity of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road began to decline rapidly as the Central Pacific Railroad was constructed through San Joaquin Valley during the 1870s. Farm diversions for irrigation in San Joaquin Valley and the presence of various rail sidings along the Central Pacific Railroad spurred infrastructure development which made development through previous wetlands easier. Eventually this development led to Legislative Route Number 4 being routed next to the rails in 1909 which became part of US Route 99.
The Stockton-Los Angeles Road between Newton's Crossing and Snelling is still prominently displayed as a major highway on the 1882 Bancroft's map of California.
Much of the property surrounding the Stockton-Los Angeles Road in southern Mariposa County would become privately held by Raynor Ranch. Raynor Ranch is named after a tributary of the Chowchilla River and still operates in modern times.
Much of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road of southern Mariposa County is shown to have been long removed on the 1935 Division of Highways map of Mariposa County. The stage corridor is shown to still be a public highway between Preston Road and Le Grand Road in Township 8 South, Range 17 East like it is in modern times.
Part 2; a drive on Raynor Ranch Road
Westbound Preston Road is carried through southern Mariposa County to the Merced County line at Raynor Ranch Road.
The entrance gate at Raynor Ranch notes it was established in 1863.
Facing south on Raynor Ranch Road towards the ranching property gate one can envision the stage corridor which once continued to the Chowchilla River and Newton's Crossing. A Mariposa County placard is present along with a sign noting the eastbound turn onto Preston Road.
Facing the opposite direction on Raynor Ranch Road reveals a Merced County placard.
Raynor Ranch Road continues northwest for approximately 3.7 miles to a terminus at Le Grand Road. The Raynor Ranch corridor mostly overlays the county line like the Stockton-Los Angeles Road once did in the 1850s.
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